Book picks similar to
Hard Nox by Jolie Vines


romance
contemporary
contemporary-romance
dnf

Marx Girl


T.L. Swan - 2017
    addictive.I fell hard and fast and then I left.I've thought about her every day since.As I sit here at a wedding watching her with her new boyfriend......I have regrets.Regrets for the past things I've done.But I won't regret what I'm about to do.She's telling me no but her body's telling me yes.I need her beneath me.I'm having her tonight. Bridget. It's the little things I remember about Ben.His smile and the icing sugar he had on his pancakes.What started out as private jokes between us soon turned into private visits.The quiet man at the back of the crowd.His dry wit made me laugh.His dominant body ruined me foreverHe never told me he loved me, until he was leaving.That was five years ago.Things are looking up for me.I met someone, someone special.But Ben is back.I find myself thinking about him ......more than I should.No matter how hard my heart is freefalling from my chest.I will never go back there.You only get to break my heart once.This is a stand alone, Contemporary romance.

The Chase


Elle Kennedy - 2018
    And they must be right, because there’s no logical reason why I’m so drawn to Colin Fitzgerald. I don’t usually go for tattoo-covered, video-gaming, hockey-playing nerd-jocks who think I’m flighty and superficial. His narrow view of me is the first strike against him. It doesn’t help that he’s buddy-buddy with my brother.And that his best friend has a crush on me.And that I just moved in with them.Oh, did I not mention we’re roommates?I suppose it doesn’t matter. Fitzy has made it clear he’s not interested in me, even though the sparks between us are liable to burn our house down. I’m not the kind of girl who chases after a man, though, and I’m not about to start. I’ve got my hands full dealing with a new school, a sleazy professor, and an uncertain future. So if my sexy brooding roomie wises up and realizes what he’s missing?He knows where to find me.

Chaos & the Geek


Elizabeth Stevens - 2020
    And, you end up with a roommate who wears a very good elegant mask over the rough and tumble, bad boy core I remember far too well.Only, it’s ten years later and I’m even nerdier than I used to be. It’s ten years later and I couldn’t look worse. It’s ten years later and I can’t keep one guy. It’s ten years later and my brother still teases me mercilessly in front of him. It’s ten years later and Kit somehow looks even better than the guy I spent my formative years crushing on.So, there’s not only the issue that he’s my older brother’s best friend, but also a sex-god this virgin can barely talk to. But that certainly never stopped me from drooling over him and it wouldn’t stop me now. He’s so far out of my league, I wouldn’t even clean in his league.Except, there might just be a smouldering heat in Kit’s eyes that suggests he’s not quite as out of my league as I thought. Just maybe, this geek is about to get a whole lot of chaos.KitWhen I find out about my best mate’s little sister’s situation, the offer is out of my mouth before I can stop it; Hawk’s like a brother to me even if Amber’s never looked twice at me. I could never tell if she was scared of me or hated me. But the deal is done. She’s going to bring her bedraggled self upstairs to my penthouse and live with me for as long as she needs.I see the pain she hides away, I see the lack of confidence despite how smart she is, how good. If there’s something I’ve learned, it’s that confidence makes all the difference. So, it becomes my mission to help Amber find her confidence. But I find more than confidence in her and suddenly I’m seeing my best mate’s little sister completely differently.I’ve never known what to say to her. She’s always been good and studious and sweet. She’s always been so far out of my league I wouldn’t even carry bags in that league. Her face is a mask that tells me nothing in between the sparse words that come out of her mouth.Except, there might be something in the way she smiles at me that gives me hope I’m not as far out of her league as I thought. It might just be time that this chaos gets a little geek.Please be aware that this story is set in Australia and therefore uses Australian English spelling and syntax.

Throttled


Elizabeth Lee - 2015
    Becoming Motocross royalty was always the plan, and he was willing to make sacrifices along the way to reach his goal. Sacrifices he thought he could live with until he returned to the small town where he grew up and learned to ride, and, more importantly, where he fell in love.When fate sends Nora Bennett back into his life, he takes one look at her and realizes that he made a huge mistake breaking up with her seven years ago. Now, he'll do whatever it takes to win her back. As Reid sets out to earn her forgiveness and convince her that the guy she's dating is not the one for her, Nora finds herself torn between what her head is telling her and what her heart wants. It's a race he never expected to be in, for a girl he can't stand to lose again.

Grand Lies


J.C. Hawke - 2021
    While the city of London slept, he made good on our promise. Only to cut me with his words as the sun broke.I ran from him—I always ran. But Mason Lowell was different, and he wouldn’t let me go without a fight, finding my flaws and embedding himself into them. My push was strong. I spent my whole life perfecting it. But his pull was unashamedly stronger, and the rope he bound around my heart was his to pull at will.Love was shared—so much love. Promises were made—he broke every one. And then just when I think we are playing in the same key...The music stops.Grand Lies is book one of The Promise Duet. It is a Billionaire Contemporary Romance and contains themes suited to mature readers.This book is part of a Duet and is not a standalone.

The Revenge You Seek


Tracy Lorraine - 2021
    or forgiven her.And I never will.Because piece by piece, she’s taken away everything I care about.And for that she’ll pay.When I claim my crown at Maddison Kings University, I’m going to make sure hers is tarnished.Scarlett Hunter is about to experience the revenge of a Legend.Dear Reader,The Revenge You Seek is the first book in Letty and Kane's trilogy. This book is a dark bully romance that contains mature content and demanding alphaholes that some readers may find disturbing. You have been warned.

Merciless


Willow Winters - 2018
    Women like her are made to destroy men like me. I couldn’t resist her though. Given to me to start a war; I was too eager to accept. But I didn’t know what she’d do to me. That she would change everything. She sees through me in a way no one else ever has. Her innocence and vulnerability make me weak for her and I hate it.I know better than to give in to temptation.A ruthless man doesn’t let a soul close to him.A cold-hearted man doesn’t risk anything for anyone.A powerful man with a beautiful woman at his mercy… he doesn’t fall for her.

Fixing Fate


Anna Brooks - 2017
    My brother’s friend and ex-partner is everything I’ll never be. Sexy, confident, and perfect. He calls me sunshine and tells me I’m beautiful. He asks me to stay. When my past come back with a vengeance, he proves just how much he’d risk to shield me from the demons that were never supposed to resurface.

His Best Friend's Little Sister


Vivian Wood - 2017
    I’m struggling through burnout and hiding out from the entire world.When we both hide out at the same cabin far away from everyone else, a mutual attraction blooms between us.I know it’s wrong, but it’s impossible to stop touching her once I start. And worse, I don’t want to let her go...

A Not So Meet Cute


Meghan Quinn - 2021
    And the answer is usually some bubbly, lovey dovey tale of being struck in the bum by Cupid’s arrow.My meet cute (well not so meet cute) is slightly different. I was trolling a wealthy neighborhood in Beverly Hills, searching for someone to take me as their bride, you know, to make my arch nemesis jealous who consequently just fired me.He was stomping around the block like some sort of gorgeous ogre, mumbling about a business deal gone wrong and attempting to finagle his way out of it.And that’s when we bumped into each other.There were no sparks.Not even a hint of blossoming love.But next thing I knew, I was scarfing down free chips and guac, listening to this man lay out all of his problems which led to his big ask . . . he wanted me to be his Vivian Ward, you know, from Pretty Woman--minus the frisky behavior.We’re talking about living in a mansion, intimate double dates, and pretending we were head over heels in love . . . and engaged. Can you imagine?The absolute audacity.But people do crazy things when they’re desperate. And I reeked of desperation. So, I struck up a deal.My one big mistake, though . . . big . . . HUGE? I accidentally fell for the incomparable Huxley Cane.

The V Card


Lauren Blakely - 2017
    You'd be wrong.At 25, I run a successful business, live in a fantastic apartment, and have fabulous friends to go out with any night of the week. And yet I'm still a card-carrying member of a club I don't want to belong to anymore. Good thing I know just the man for the deflowering job—my brother’s business partner and best friend. Graham Campbell is charming, smart, and, I’m told, oh-so-skilled in the sack. As long as I keep my eyes on the prize, there’s no way this pluck-the-flower project could possibly complicate matters.***Work and pleasure. As the CEO of a fast-growing company, I've been enjoying both to the fullest. What do I do when the board throws me for an unexpected loop so I can keep my business in my hands? I enlist the help of my best friend's little sister since she holds a big stake in the company. But then I learn there's another big stake she wants. The one between my legs.I can do this. Seven nights to teach her everything I know in the bedroom. There's no way I'll fall for her, even though she’s earning top grades in every single sinfully sexy lesson. And turns out I’m learning something too. The trouble is I don’t have the answer key to what to do when I fall hard for her.And that throws a whole new hitch in my plans.

Can't Shake You


Molly McLain - 2014
    Cue the small town drama.One thing Carissa Brandt knows: spontaneity always gets her in trouble. But she’s gone and jumped head first into an impulsive summer renovation project anyway.When her contractor turns out to be a cheat, her only lifeline is the proffered hand of Josh Hudson—the sexy Marine who left her aching for more than their single night together three years ago.Josh has two hard and fast rules: never mix business with pleasure and never look twice at women his friends have dated, much less loved. It makes life in a small town simple. Or rather it would...If he weren’t keeping a secret that could ruin his good name and the reputation of the woman he can’t get out of his head…The woman who now needs his help.*Can't Shake You can be read as a standalone!

Fight For You


Charisse Spiers - 2014
    The blood spattered everywhere was no longer mine. I wore crimson on my fists. I liked it. I finally tore out of the useless adolescent I was and took control—something I should have done a long time ago. But I wasn’t broken alone, and probably why it took so long. So much was stolen from her too, and once I set the beast inside me free, I couldn’t stop until I righted every wrong.Then we ran like hell.All she ever wanted was for me to love her. And in ways I did, every time he took what wasn’t his to take. I sent her away, forcing her to make a life for herself, never to come after me, to breathe a word of what happened, or to go back. I left her crying and pleading to go with me. I never looked back.I promised I’d make something of myself for both of us, and I did. For her I fight. I win. I make my opponent pay in blood. I will never again be at the losing end of a swinging fist. All it takes is unleashing memories in that cage and I can’t be beaten. I reward myself with a night of fun that never turns into morning. Then came Alyvia—the girl that proved she was better than that. The girl that became my best friend. The girl that changed my life in more ways than one.She gave me her. Piper Morgan—a real life dream catcher. I wasn’t supposed to touch her. I’ve never been a rule follower. She was too appetizing to pass up. I broke a promise. The first time I wanted a woman to stay, she walked away. The control I fought so hard for is gone. In the middle of my spiraling addiction, secrets are uncovered, my past returns, and unexpected circumstances hunt me down. The motto a fighter lives by—fight or get the fuck out of the cage.

Single Dad's Waitress


Amelia Wilde - 2017
    Valentine is serving up the exact opposite at the Short Stack Café.She’s a disaster waiting to happen—a gorgeous, irresistible disaster.Ryder can’t risk his newfound stability on a whirlwind like Valentine. He definitely can’t risk his heart. But one taste of her has him willing to pick up the tab, no matter the price.(Previously titled Over Easy.)

On the Rocks


Sawyer Bennett - 2014
    Now he’s returned home to the sand and salty breeze of the North Carolina Outer Banks so he can open The Last Call, a beach bar nestled among the dunes of the Atlantic.Five years ago, Gabby Ward drunkenly threw herself at her best friend’s brother, only to have her young heart crushed. Hunter is back but Gabby is content to stay far away from him and his dangerously charming ways. Gabby’s well-schemed plans to ignore Hunter go up in flames when he presents her an offer she simply can’t refuse. Working together day in and day out proves problematic for two reasons—Gabby realizes her feelings for Hunter are still very much alive, while Hunter struggles to break through to Gabby’s cold heart. What starts out as a mutual business arrangement soon turns into a passion that neither can deny.But when the pro surfing tour comes knocking and Hunter has a chance to reclaim his former glory, hard choices lie ahead for both of them.Choices that could destroy what they have built or take them further than they could ever dare to hope in their second chance at romance.